Today:"Just so you know, when a recruit is on another campus, you can't call him," Kiffin said. "I love the fact that Urban had to cheat and still didn't get him."That would be a pretty damning quote if calling a recruit on another campus WAS a violation:
Kiffin's accusation is false, because there is no NCAA rule that prohibits a coach from calling a prospect while he's visiting another school during a contact period. This past weekend was a contact period.But Lane "5-15" Kiffin wasn't done:
"There is no rule that would prohibit Coach Meyer from calling a prospect at Tennessee on a Friday or Saturday during an official visit during a contact period," said Jamie McCloskey, UF's NCAA compliance director. "There's never been a rule. I've been doing this for a long time. Not only has there never been a rule, there's never been a discussion about having a rule.
Kiffin also took aim at Alabama coach Nick Saban and suggested that Saban should "thank" new Tennessee assistant Lance Thompson for the Crimson Tide's No. 2-ranked class. Thompson was one of Saban's best recruiters at Alabama before leaving to join the Tennessee staff in January.Look, I have no problem with coaches who talk shit. But you need to back it up with something.
A national title?
A conference title?
A winning season?
A season with more than four wins?
Hell, that's so easy even last year's Tennessee team could do it!
In addition to the hilariousness of Kiffin "calling out" two of the most successful coaches in the modern era (3 BCS titles between them), you have to wonder if he knows what he's getting into.
If there are two coaches that I would not want to piss off, it's Meyer and Saban, who have been fairly ruthless at getting their revenge.
You can ask Knowshon Moreno how that turns out:
This is not the type of team you should be giving extra motivation.
Lane "5-15" Kiffin? oh, because anyone could have led the Raiders to more wins during that 1.25 season span. it had nothing to do with the fact that Al Davis is plum crazy and impossible to work with/for. i know you hate Tennessee, and granted what Kiffin said was not even true (but funny), but I think he will be much better suited to the college game. the fact is that he never should have been hired in Oakland in the first place. you may not have to worry this year, but down the road I think he'll be a very good fit in Knoxville.
ReplyDeleteNo argument about that 5-15 coming under pretty insane circumstances, but for someone who hasn't won anything yet as head coach at any level, that's a lot of talk.
ReplyDeleteWhile I do think there's a very good chance of him being successful at this level, I love the fact that he's completely boxed himself in. Shit talking between coaches is one of the greatest aspects of SEC, and if you can back it up you become a legend. (Spurier was the master at this, but unlike Kiffin he waited until he won some SEC titles before he started running his mouth.)
But by doing all of this pre-emptively, he has left himself no room for error.
He will either be remembered as a complete genius or an utter joke, with no middle ground in between.
And when living up to the hype means winning an SEC title(they'll give him 5 years) in a league with Georgia, Florida, Bama and LSU all pulling in top 10 classes for proven top tier head coaches, I just know I wouldn't bet on it.
I do respect the balls it takes to falsely accuse a coach with multiple national titles of cheating, and then taunt the best recruiting coach in the nation about his recruiting skills. Not that taunting is bad, just that it's pretty damn bold when your career as a head coach makes you at best an unproven commodity.
Hey, as a Florida fan (and SEC fan) I love it. If he fails Ivan Maisel predicted that it would take UT 10 years to recover. And if he succeeds we have another rivalry renewed in the best conference in college football.
That being said, I'm not really hiding which outcome I'm hoping for.
I'll add that on ESPN.com Chris Low and Gene Wojciechowski have good takes I just about 100% agree with.
ReplyDeleteboth articles make good points, i leaned towards low's take a little more than wojo's though. it's true that Kiffin hasn't won anything, but that's because he's only 33! it's not like he's been waiting in the wings for years and continually been passed up for chances. this guy has been as fast-tracked as you can possibly be, but it's also true that he has everything to prove of himself. he does have some pretty substansial college experience at USC -- no slouches, especially when you take his age into account.
ReplyDeleteyou're right though, he hasn't won anything yet, but it's also not quite fair to diss him for his one-and-a-quarter seasons stint with the raiders either.